Genesys CSO: Empathy at the Heart of Sustainable Tech

For Bridgette Bell McAdoo, the Chief Sustainability Officer at Genesys, sustainability is a fundamentally human endeavour.

Her mission extends beyond typical environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, focusing instead on embedding empathy into the fabric of the business to foster responsible growth and innovation.

Bridgette's role involves ensuring this ethos permeates every aspect of Genesys.

“My role is to make sure that our strategy for sustainability is integrated into how we do business at Genesys and to make sure that we can scale in a responsible way,” she explains.

Leading a team that works across all business functions and regions, Bridgett's goal is to use sustainability as a source of value for the global cloud-based customer experience technology leader.

Integrating sustainability into core business strategy

At Genesys, the approach to sustainability is not an add-on but a central part of its business strategy.

“I like to think we're very different from a lot of other companies,” she says.

“We have integrated sustainability into our business strategy. It’s not just what we say we’re doing – it’s who we are. It’s an extension of our core values.”

One of these core values is to embrace empathy, which Bridgette sees as the anchor connecting sustainability to corporate culture and technological innovation.

This integration is evident in Genesys's processes, from design and communication to stakeholder engagement.

For Bridgette, it is about creating a system where sustainability is a natural part of Genesys's operations.

She asks: “How can we make sure that it becomes an organic extension of how we work?”

This philosophy shapes how Genesys designs its products, communicates its values and involves its employees in its mission.

Responsible AI and sustainable cloud operations

A key area of focus for Bridgette is aligning technological advancement, particularly in agentic AI, with environmental responsibility.

As AI becomes more integral to Genesys's strategy, questions around its energy consumption and environmental impact are common.

“It’s a question everyone is asking,” she says. “AI is an integral part of our strategy and our technology.”

Genesys embeds sustainability directly into its technological frameworks to address this.

“We make sure that when we look at our design and engineering of AI, we’re also looking at ways to make sure energy is not going to be wasted,” says Bridgette.

This proactive approach includes the responsible design of its model cards to reduce energy use.

She adds: “We also operate the cloud in carbon-neutral operations. Our cloud runs on carbon-neutral operations, and we’re very proud of that.”

Empathy as a catalyst for sustainable growth

The idea that business growth and sustainability are mutually exclusive is a notion Bridgette challenges.

She believes both can be achieved simultaneously and that leadership at Genesys is committed to this principle.

“You can have sustainable growth, and you can be a sustainable company,” she says.

At Genesys, sustainability is viewed as an enabler of growth, not a constraint.

This is why it is a strategic priority for Genesys, which remains committed to scaling responsibly.

This belief is encapsulated in Bridgette's phrase “sustainability is empathy in action”.

She views the two concepts as being completely interconnected.

“I always ask our employees: ‘How can you really be empathetic and not think about the society that you’re working in, or the community where we live and sell?’,” she says.

She adds: “To me, they’re just perfectly in sync values. When you’re going to be an empathetic company, you also need to be a sustainable company.”

Genesys's 2025 sustainability report shows tangible results from this approach.

According to the report, Genesys has achieved a year-on-year reduction in emissions and developed new LEED-certified buildings globally.

Employee engagement has also seen a notable increase, with a 130% rise in volunteering through its Impact Together programme.

Furthermore, Genesys's technology has supported charitable organisations by enabling millions of conversations.

Bridgette's leadership shows that linking purpose with performance can be a powerful model for the technology industry.